“Time to stop being defensive”
TORONTO – Newly designated with permanent residency status, Rogers Communications CEO Guy Laurence has some advice for the federal government as it begins the complex and difficult work of redefining Canada’s cultural policy.
Laurence spoke Wednesday at the Canadian Club in Toronto and said his adopted home faces a “once-in-a-lifetime” position to redefine its brand on a global stage and stake out a leadership position in culture.
Canada doesn’t have the gun culture of the U.S. (nor the ongoing electoral circus), has a stable economy and political infrastructure, fewer terrorism worries than other…
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TORONTO – The Canada Media Fund and the Italian Directorate General for Cinema of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Activities and Tourism have renewed their incentive for the co-development of documentary projects between Canadian and Italian producers.
The budget for the Canada – Italy Co-development Incentive for Documentary Projects is set at CAD $200,000, with each partner investing half of the total amount. Eligible documentary projects must be a documentary intended for theatrical release in Italy and for broadcast by an eligible Canadian broadcaster, and must involve at least one Canadian producer and one Italian producer.
The…
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OTTAWA – Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages Mélanie Joly has officially launched the consultations in to Canada’s cultural and creative industries, a process dubbed Canadian Content in a Digital World.
This consultation process follows a pre-consultation questionnaire completed by nearly 10,000 Canadians earlier this year that resulted in a discussion paper designed to guide this phase of the process. Canadians are being urged to visit the website, read about the approach and provide their suggestions “on positioning Canada's cultural sector at the heart of Canada's creative economy”, now through November 25.
Minister Joly pledged to host in-person discussions…
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Without a major regulatory change, the traditional TV industry here faces a chilling future
IF THE CRTC DOESN’T, at long last, review the 1999 New Media Exemption Order, the Canadian TV industry as we know it may well perish in the next five years, at the cost of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs – all while production of Canadian content shrivels to whatever the CBC makes.
Last week, the Federal Communications Commission reached a compromise deal with the subscription TV titans in the States over the American regulator’s so-called push to “unlock the…
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OVER THE SUMMER, our shirt-challenged prime minister and national rock band reminded us that we stand unique in the world. As a country, we caught a glimpse of ourselves in the mirror. Turns out we’re not just sexy: Canadians are passionate about being Canadian. And yes, the Broadcasting Act is part of that.
With dark clouds looming over much of the world, Canadians are taking stock of who we are through the invisible web of culture. It lets us explore ideas and values, and dream our collective future. Culture connects our communities in all our glorious diversities.
Television has a vital…
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MONTREAL – Concerns over “allegations of systemic and overt racism” within the CRTC have prompted two community organizations to petition Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly to reinstate former Ontario CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan.
In a letter dated September 6 that was also copied to Governor General David Johnston and CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais, the Community Media Advocacy Centre and Urban Alliance on Race Relations noted that in the Commission’s 48 year history, only two of 103 first-time appointments have been granted to visible minorities, and that no visible minority or Indigenous person has ever been appointed to serve…
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TORONTO – Globalive Capital has sold off Yak Communications, OneConnect Services, and its hospitality communications provider Canopco in two separate transactions, as it eyes new ventures and plans for expansion.
Long-distance provider Yak Communications has been scooped up by independent telecom Distributel Communications, while OneConnect Services and Canopco were acquired by Accelerated Connections Inc. (ACI), a provider of private IP connectivity and public internet services to businesses in Canada. Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.
"Yak Communications, OneConnect Services and Canopco have been an important part of Globalive Capital's portfolio and brands that are an integral part of our…
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Chaiman Blais should not have been witness and adjudicator
TORONTO – Former Ontario CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan won his first day in court over CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais.
Federal Court justice Russell Zinn on Friday said in a 50-page ruling that having chairman Blais as both witness and adjudicator was unfair and because of that, set aside the finding of workplace harassment found against Shoan. The case was heard in June.
Shoan was originally accused of workplace harassment by former executive director of communications Amanda Cliff in 2014. The case against Shoan was over seven different email threads…
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THE CRTC ISSUED a decision ACTRA didn’t like and criticized it in a press release last week. CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais didn’t much care for that press release and on Wednesday sent the actor’s union a letter saying so.
Now, today we have a letter sent back to the chair from ACTRA president Ferne Downey (right) defending its position.
In his letter to ACTRA yesterday, Blais defended how the Commission reached its decision on a new policy for Certified Independent Production Funds (CIPFs), noting that the public proceedings held over the past two years made for a…
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CBC'S OLYMPIC COVERAGE this month is a good starting point for a wider discussion about Canadian broadcasting in our multicultural country.
If we want to be consumer-centric in our approach to regulating the broadcast system, and multiculturalism is one priority pillar of the system, then it stands to reason that all Canadians would be better served if program rights holders were prohibited from squatting on unexploited multilingual rights – especially in the case of major global events.
This past month, Canada missed a great opportunity to use this global unifying event to assist in the never ending effort to…
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